Contact Information: Media Contact: John Lovett Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5306 John.Lovett@aberdeen.com
Web Site Search Tools Convert Shoppers to Buyers and Elevate Customer Satisfaction
Best-in-Class Companies Use Search Technologies to Create a Customer Centric Online Experience
| Source: Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
BOSTON, MA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- March 6, 2007 -- 91% of leading online retailers have improved
customer conversion rates, 60% show increased average order value and 100%
of leading retailers report year over year increases in customer
satisfaction as a result of their web site search applications. This news
surfaced in the recent research benchmark report, "Web Site Search: Revenue
in the Results," by Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE : HHS ).
Web site search is a minimum competitive requirement for online commerce as
indicated by the 96% of eCommerce web sites that currently have or will
have a search tool in place in the next twenty-four months. Differentiation
in search tools will surface among companies that focus on key customer
service tools that make the online shopping experience more efficient and
more gratifying. 86% percent of companies achieving the highest returns
from their web site search applications conduct moderate to extensive
customizations to fit their specific products or services. The payoff in
the eyes of 83% of leading online companies is a positive return on
investment (ROI) from their web site search applications.
"eCommerce search applications are innately suited to merchandising, due to
their very nature of seeking out products. Yet, 46% of respondents struggle
with the proper method to manage this capability," said John Lovett,
research analyst, Aberdeen. "To support this function, there is a growing
contingent of vendors providing 'Searchandising' tools and techniques for
inducing search results to benefit traditional retail merchandising."
Aberdeen questioned companies about their web site search application
performance measurement in three critical areas of their businesses to
determine which metrics determine search application excellence. The
business categories are: Financial, Operational and Consumer. Each of these
categories includes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) specific to Web Site
Search that differentiate successful online companies from those that are
lagging the industry.
Consumer pressures emerged as prominent factors for eCommerce web sites.
Although search is a ubiquitous technology, producing accurate and relevant
results remains a top pressure for 78% of survey respondents who seek to
deliver search tools to enhance the customer experience. This was followed
by the financial pressure of growing revenue faced by 53% of all
respondents, trailed by gaining a better understanding of customer behavior
through search tools at 35% of respondents. The dominant strategy taken by
59% of survey respondents to address these pressures is continuous fine
tuning of search to ensure that customers receive relevant results.
The research, underwritten by Mercado Software and SLI-Systems, shows
readers methods to leverage web site search applications to improve
comparable year over year sales, customer conversion rates and average
order value.
To download a complimentary copy of the report for a limited time, please
visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=3910
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market
intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more
than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely
positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating
demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment
analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets,
corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in
context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's
analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of
Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement -
Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role
Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit
Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more
about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.